Timaru lumberyard ordered to pay $450k after worker crushed to death

RNZ News

21 hours ago

Ethyn McTier.
Photo:
Supplied
A Timaru lumberyard and its sole director have been ordered to pay $450,000 after a worker was crushed to death.
Ethyn McTier's family said the loss of the gentle soul has left a gap in their lives that can never be filled.
The 23-year-old was killed in the workplace accident at Point Lumber in Timaru on 1 November 2022.
Point Lumber and its sole director Sean David Sloper appeared at the Timaru District Court in May for sentencing on charges of failing to provide a duty of care to prevent exposure to risk of death or injury.
At the hearing Judge Dominic Dravitzki considered fines of more than $600,000 and emotional harm reparation to McTier's family of $140,000, although the court heard the company had made losses in recent years and such a penalty would jeopardise its future.
As a result, Judge Dravitzki decided not to hand down his final sentence in May to await further details about the company's finances.
On Wednesday the judge fined Point Lumber $250,000, Sloper $60,000 and ordered $140,000 be paid to McTier's family.
The company was previously
fined $32,000 in 2020 after three-year-old Felyx Rhys Hatherley died
when a stack of wooden posts fell on him while he was visiting his father at the lumberyard.
McTier died after becoming trapped and crushed in a conveyor belt drive roller.
The conveyor belt that Ethyn McTier was trapped and killed by.
Photo:
Supplied
WorkSafe's investigation found there was no guarding along the length of the conveyor belt to protect workers, nor in the area where McTier was drawn in. A risk assessment had also not been done.
A range of other machine safety defects were also found onsite.
Point Lumber had also failed to follow a safety consultant's recommendation to safeguard the conveyor back in 2017, WorkSafe said.
McTier's family said the sentence marked the end of long and difficult legal process.
"We are thankful for the outcome and that Point Lumber and Sean Sloper have been held accountable for Ethyn's death. But at the end of the day, we've lost someone who was a pillar in our family and the hole that has been left in our lives is immeasurable," the family said.
"Ethyn was only 23-years-old, he had his whole life ahead of him and his death was 100 percent preventable.
"We just hope this serves as a warning to other employers to take workplace safety more seriously, as their decisions and actions, or lack thereof, could mean the difference between life and death for someone else's son or daughter, brother or sister and no family should ever have to go through the pain and loss we have experienced."
Point Lumber.
Photo:
RNZ / Tim Brown
During emotional and grief-stricken victim impact statements read to the court at May's hearing, McTier's family described the enormous effect his death had on their lives.
"Ethyn was...a true mummy's boy," his mother told the court.
"Losing my eldest son at just 23 years of age has impacted my life beyond words. He was my rock, my confidante, my ally. Not a day went by when I didn't see him or talk on the phone."
She cried every day and had ongoing nightmares about her son's death.
Her three youngest children's schooling had also suffered.
"They've been bullied and had Ethyn's death used as ammunition by fellow kids," she said.
"Ethyn was always there for me and his other siblings at an instant. Ethyn's death has opened a chasm that will never be filled. The last two-and-a-half years have been horrific for everyone. The family has really been torn apart."
Ethyn's father said the call informing him of his son's death still haunted him.
"It was the worst day of my life - a day I relive every day," he said.
"My family and myself are all victims of his death, but the real victim here is Ethyn. He lost his life and all because of other people's lack of action.
"They say time is a healer of pain, but this is not true. Time only doubles my pain and makes me feel numb."
He directed his statement at Sloper and told him he hoped he did not forget about his son and the failure that led to his death.
"Everyone should have the right to go home safely from work - why was my son denied this right?" he asked.
McTier's sister said she wanted to recognise the most significantly impacted victim - Ethyn.
"He was a kind, caring, gentle soul - always there for anyone who needed him," she said.
"He was goofy and loved to make people laugh. Family was at the heart of everything he did.
"He was the fibre that held our family together. He has lost the most.
"He had dreams and ambitions he will never fulfill. He will never grow old.
"His life was taken before he barely had a chance to live it."
Outside court in May, Sloper did not wish to speak but handed RNZ a statement.
Point Lumber director Sean David Sloper leaving court.
Photo:
RNZ / Tim Brown
"Business owners should not rely on there [sic] own health n [sic] safety systems," it said.
"They need to be regularly and independently audited and more importantly find competent electricians and engineers that can build robust workable safety systems."
WorkSafe acting regional manager Darren Handforth said McTier's death bore similarities to that of Wesley Tomich, who was killed on a conveyor belt at Ballance Agri-Nutrients in Mt Maunganui in July 2023.
"Endangering workers in this way is careless in the extreme, because these deaths were clearly preventable. In no way is it acceptable to be able to be killed at work on a conveyor belt," Handforth said.
"The manufacturing sector must seize these two deadly incidents as a watershed moment for health and safety. We implore businesses to ensure their machine guarding meets safety standards. If necessary, engage a qualified expert to ensure your machinery is adequately guarded to avoid inflicting further tragedy on other families."
In March, WorkSafe conducted 304 assessments in the manufacturing sector and issued improvement notices in 67 percent of cases.
It signalled the progress left to be made by the industry, Handforth said.
During May's hearing, Judge Dravitzki acknowledged McTier's family's "real and raw" pain and thanked them for sharing their victim impact statements.
"It is also helpful for me in terms of giving life to Ethyn and gaining some tiny appreciation of the massive hole his loss has left in all of your lives," the judge said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.